August 31 NORTH CAROLINA: New murder charges against jailed suspect----Man accused in deaths of father, daughter, woman in Charlotte Police say a man already in jail faces more murder charges and could receive the death penalty if convicted in a homicide case more than 21 years old. Michael Wayne Sherrill, 59, who was arrested in January in connection with an unrelated homicide has been charged with 3 more murders, 3 counts of arson and 1 count of rape. Police said Sherrill is responsible for the Oct. 3, 1984 deaths of Arthur Jackson Bostic, 36, his 14-year-old daughter, Amy, and the woman Bostic intended to wed, Linda Taylor, 37. If convicted, Sherrill could face the death penalty, said Detective Chuck Henson, a member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Homicide Cold Case Unit. The victims were found beaten to death after firefighters extinguished a blaze at Taylor's south Charlotte home. Amy was found upstairs, still in her pajamas. Her father and Taylor were downstairs, according to Observer records. Police and family members said Sherrill was a business associate and friend of the adult victims. He was interviewed two days after the murders, Henson said, but police didn't have enough evidence to formally charge him. Police were not specific Tuesday about what new evidence led to the new charges. Henson said in the press conference that "there's been evidence sent to the lab," but said in an interview after the 1 p.m. news conference that most information came from witnesses who came to police after Sherrill was arrested for another murder. Cynthia Dotson was killed in 1984. Police closed that case earlier this year. Sherrill was charged, and after he went to jail "some people came to us," Henson said. "They were scared of him." Sherrill spent most of the last 2 decades living in Belmont, police said, although they arrested him in Stanly County. Family members at the news conference said they can finally begin closing that chapter of their lives. Gail Bostic, Amy's mother, said she was not dismayed that her daughter's killer might get the ultimate punishment for his crimes. "We all get justice for what we do," she said. "If we don't get it here, we get it in the hereafter." Police say there may be more suspects in the slayings. Anyone with information is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers at (704) 334-1600. (source: Charlotte Observer) NEW YORK: Morgy stings foe on death penalty nod Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau is not only running his 1st TV ads in years, he's going negative on his opponent. Morgenthau's 1st ad of the season focused on his achievements but a new entry released this week tells viewers that his challenger in the Democratic primary, former judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, favors the death penalty. The "Clear Choice" commercial takes a quote from Snyder's book, "25 to Life," in which she said she would have been willing to give one defendant a lethal injection herself. The ad ends with the tag line: "Leslie Crocker Snyder: Wrong on the Death Penalty. Wrong for Manhattan. Snyder has released a number of commercials critical of the 86-year-old Morgenthau's 30 years in office. "The man I made the comment about personally administering a lethal injection was [murderer] Tyrone Davis, the sickest criminal I have ever seen," Snyder, 63, said in a statement. The state currently does not have a death penalty statute. Snyder was endorsed yesterday by The New York Times. The Daily News endorsed Morgenthau on Sunday. (source: New York Daily News) GEORGIA: WR man re-indicted, faces death penalty A man accused of beating his elderly mother to death is now facing a death penalty indictment. A Houston County grand jury re-indicted Ray Carlos Smith, 45, for the beating death of his 78-year-old mother, Geneva Smith. Smith was indicted on a murder charge earlier, but Houston County District Attorney Kelly Burke re-indicted him to seek the death penalty. Smith, of Warner Robins, was indicted on charges of malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated battery and 2 counts of theft by receiving stolen property. "The charges as alleged in the indictment are more fitting for a decision to seek the death penalty," Burke said. The previous indictment did not include 2 counts of aggravated assault, and the counts of aggravated battery now specify the victim's age, which can mean "enhanced punishment," Burke said. Last October, Smith allegedly beat his mother using his hands and feet, causing brain injury and broken ribs, authorities said. Tuesday's indictment alleges that he kicked her and broke her ribs. An autopsy concluded that she died of blunt-force trauma. She was found dead in her living room, and Smith was arrested a few hours later driving a stolen truck. Investigators did not elaborate on a possible motive but said the suspect had recently been released from jail. Family members were staying with Geneva Smith when she was slain, but no one heard anything when she was beaten, police said. Smith was also indicted on a charge of theft by receiving stolen property. (source: Macon Telegraph)
